The present invention relates to bus conductor support systems, and particularly to a system in which improved accessibility is provided.
Various bus conductor support systems have been disclosed heretofore. In a typical support system, a bus conductor is secured to an insulator assembly and mounted within a grounded hollow enclosure. The insulator assembly insulates the bus conductor from the grounded enclosure and provides support therefor. Mounting hardware is provided for securing the insulator assembly to the enclosure. The enclosure, including its contents, is secured to a mounting platform. In most prior art bus conductor support systems, the bus conductor is provided with access and mounting holes through which mounting hardware e.g., threaded bolts, can be inserted for mounting the bus conductor on the insulator assembly. For servicing purposes, the enclosure is also provided with access openings. The enclosure access openings are generally disposed in a position in line with the bus conductor access openings. Exemplary bus conductor support systems are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,801, entitled "Post-Type Insulator Assembly for Enclosed Electric Bus", issued to Niemoller et al on May 7, 1974, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,972,005, entitled "Isolated Phase Bus Duct Apparatus", issued to Brealey, Jr., et al on Feb. 14, 1961, and assigned to the assignee of the present application.
Although the bus conductor support systems heretofore discussed are satisfactory for many applications, they do suffer from certain problems. One problem is that it is generally undesirable from a manufacturing standpoint to provide the necessary access and mounting holes in the bus conductor structure. Another problem is that, in such a structure, access to the insulator assembly and its mounting hardware for servicing and/or removal is often difficult to achieve. Additional access openings could be provided in the enclosure, i.e., one opening for access to the mounting hardware associated with the bus conductor and another opening for access to the mounting hardware associated with the insulator assembly structure. However, this approach is undesirable from a manufacturing standpoint as it requires additional access openings in the enclosure. Another problem is that the access and mounting holes in the bus conductor, and the mounting system associated therewith, impose substantial constraints upon assembly of the systems. More particularly, in such a structure, the bus conductors must be carefully aligned with the associated insulator assembly. Indeed, if not properly aligned, proper mounting and securing of the bus conductor becomes very difficult. This problem can be better appreciated by referring to a support system in which the bus conductor and the enclosure are tubularly shaped. In such a system, for proper securing of the bus conductor to the insulator assembly, the mounting holes in the bus conductor must align with the mounting hardware associated with the insulator assembly both longitudinally and angularly.
Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide a bus conductor support system which provides improved accessibility to the bus conductor and insulator assembly.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a bus conductor support system in which bus conductor alignment constraints are reduced.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bus conductor support system in which the bus conductor is mounted on an insulator assembly without the need for holes in the bus conductor.